Elements of South-Indian Palæography, from the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century A.D. c6.s4: § 4. The Javanese Numeral Figures
Elements of South-Indian Palæography, from the Fourth to the Seventeenth Century A.D. c6.s4
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§ 4. The Javanese Numeral Figures
c6.s4.1
One of the most interesting features of the Kawi and Sanskrit inscriptions of Java is the complete information they give about the numerals.
c6.s4.2
From the 9th century A. D. onwards we find the decimal system of notation in full use[^1).
c6.s4.3
The earliest certain specimen[^2) is of 841 A. D., and it is easy to see that these figures are a slight modification of those in the Vengi and Pallava inscriptions, such as would occur in the course of some four hundred years which is the difference of date between the two. After this period the progress of change is rapid, and by the 14th century it had gone so far that the figures used are wholly unlike those which are their original source. This fact is remarkable as, except in the case of a few letters, the Kawi character underwent but little change in form for a long while. In later times the modification has been very rapid.
c6.s4.4
It is necessary to remark that as the plates which compose çāsanas are very rarely numbered, it is very difficult to get complete series of the numeral figures used in earlier times. It cannot, however, be doubted that they were in much more common use, than the rarity of their occurrence in old documents would lead an observer to infer.